May 22, 2001

Mr. Lake Barrett, Acting Director
Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, DC 20585

Dear Mr. Barrett:

The State of Nevada formally requests that the public comment period for the Supplement to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a Geologic Repository for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada (DOE/EIS-0250D-S) be extended by at least 45 days to provide not less than 90 days for review and comment by members of the public, local governments, and other affected parties.

Given the technical nature of the information contained in the Supplement, the intense public interest in and concern about the Yucca Mountain project in general and DOE's National Environmental Policy Act process in particular, and the time constraints faced by affected governments for obtaining citizen input, compiling comments, and obtaining governing body endorsements, forty-five days simply does not afford adequate time for meaningful public input.

Thank you for your attention to this request.

Sincerely,

  --/s/--

Robert R. Loux
Executive Director